Ewen McKenzie is set to pilot Australia through to the next Rugby World Cup with his appointment as the new Wallabies coach expected to be made on Tuesday.

Robbie Deans is understood to have been axed with six months remaining on his contract, clearing the way for Queensland Reds coaching director McKenzie.

While the Australian Rugby Union remained tight-lipped on the matter following a meeting with Kiwi Deans, McKenzie is expected to be unveiled as his replacement.

He saw off a challenge from Brumbies and World Cup-winning former Springboks coach Jake White, with public opinion heavily in favour of an Australian in the post.

The Queensland Rugby Union also had no comment but the Melbourne Rebels' appointment on Monday of Wallabies coaching co-ordinator Tony McGahan as their new head coach ahead of McKenzie indicated he had bigger plans.

The ARU chief executive Bill Pulver said Deans's position wouldn't hinge on the result of the Wallabies' campaign against British and Irish Lions, however the manner of their third Test 41-16 capitulation appears to have forced their hand.

New Zealander Deans was Australia's first foreign-born coach and also the Wallabies' most capped coach, overseeing 74 Tests in his five-and-a-half years in the post.

Since taking over in 2008 he led the Wallabies to 43 wins, 29 losses and two draws, for a winning percentage of 58%.

Deans had a bad run with injuries and as a result he created depth by blooding a new generation of players.

However, the returns never quite materialised, particularly against New Zealand with his record a miserable three wins from 18 games and no Bledisloe Cups.

McKenzie, who played in Australia's triumphant 1991 World Cup side, served as an assistant under Test coaches Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones.

The popular 48-year-old, who coached Queensland to the Super Rugby title in 2011, is expected to shore up the scrum and re-ignite the Wallabies attack.

The Reds play an expansive, entertaining style that appeals to fans disillusioned by the stuttering attack under Deans' reign.

That also means a likely return to Test rugby for Queensland playmaker Quade Cooper, rejected by Deans for the Lions' campaign after his public criticism of the Wallabies set-up last year.

The Wallabies' next Test match is against the All Blacks in Sydney on August 17 in the first match of The Rugby Championship.